RRC Archives

Cromper that sux, what can u doo...deeks...but consider part of my weekend.

"Your grigri is upside down"-Me

"Wha?"

"Ya, yer hand end pointing up, climber/feed pointing to ground...should look like this (partner hangdogging-visual is clear)"

"Wha?"

The leader (hadn't started) noticed and fixed it, I was surprised someone was actually receptive to DFU (don't firetruck up) advice....my partner calls me crag police, but the times I haven't said anything people got hurt or had very near misses. Better to police than rescue I've "learnt". If they are angry a lot of times i think it's cuz they know it's not "best practice"... Also had to narc out a young un whose brake hand was off the belay device (tube of some type, trango I think) entirely ( while his climber skritched through a thin crux....climber was not happy... Kid was actually lowering with the top hand (brake loose) at points but did do it safely

speaking of Gallery Lite, (that's what my old partner called the right side of The Gallery) i just remembered seeing a guy fall on top rope at the first little crux at the bottom of Brief History Of Climb and swung out 30 feet into a tree! I informed him and his party of 8 gumballs (that were all laughing) that he should be climbing through the draws because of the overhang.
He said ok but must not of understood what i was saying... he did it again. i wanted to hand him a cyanide capsule.

Cromper wrote:This last saturday I was at the gallery finishing the day off with a few nice relaxing 10s over by the far right side of the wall and there were atleast 2 people belaying 20 ft from the wall. I tried to tell the one guy that he should maybe stand a bit closer to the wall but was greeted with a snide look and was told to mind my own business and he knew what he was doing. I'm really tired of trying to help people out and being greeted with angry replies. Anymore I am really considering not telling these people what is wrong with their technique. Maybe the only way for people to realize that climbing is a life and death sport is for someone to be made an example. It's really sad...

If you see me doing something stupid, please tell me...though my most likely climbing partner lately has been Rick, so all the stupid should be drummed out of me pretty quickly...

Cromper wrote: I tried to tell the one guy that he should maybe stand a bit closer to the wall but was greeted with a snide look and was told to mind my own business and he knew what he was doing.

you should have looked at him and said..... "no you don't"

Sunday...Sky Bridge Ridge...same sort of thing - belayer way, way too far from the wall. Didn't really grasp the concept of clotheslining the climber in the event of the fall. Less than receptive to the advice. Ya, brah...it's all good until we are the ones that have to carry out your partner because you are standing there in shock because you just fucked up somebody's life.

bad belaying and dangerous rope management are OUR collective business. i'm just starting to not suck at climbing so - call me selfish - but i'm not big on an Outback full of giggly idiots ruining my run to greatness.

so please support my efforts by making sure nobody gets hurt.

Maybe auto-locking belay devices should have spikes on part of the handle. Might keep belayers from mindlessly grabbing on and holding them open.

Going out on a limb here, but...

Was at a crag this weekend while a group of really strong climbers were crushing every route in sight. Out of the group of 6 I watched 4 of them belay without ever touching the gri-gri other than to pay out slack. And no, I don't mean they were on the brake side of the rope, I mean they weren't doing anything at all. Arms crossed, almost in defiance of anything that could be considered proper technique.

I talked with a friend on the way home who has been climbing for over two decades. His take, it is better to trust the device implicitly than to not understand how to use it and then use it wrong. I think Shamis on here preaches that in every one of these threads. There is a part of me that is leaning that way as well. First instinct is to correct with a demonstration of the proper technique (do as I do), but honestly, if they are doing the hands off method, and not the pinch the cam all the time method, maybe leave well enough alone. Just a thought, amongst all the bad belay harassment. 8)

bcombs I see what you're getting at and I somewhat agree.
BUT. I've been sitting on a gri gri while setting indoors and have had it "slip." A couple of times actually. I had my whole weight and the camming device engaged, but when I would shift my weight just right, the rope could feed through smoothly enough to unlock the cam and fell about 5 feet to my safety knot that I would tie every ten feet or so. I was using a thick static cord, blah blah blah. Point is. Even Auto Lockers can result in rope feeding through in special conditions without locking, even without user error. If you are belaying the ONLY way to ensure that rope is not fed accidently is to keep your brake hand on. Period.
I won't preach that to everyone I see, but you can bet that I will ALWAYS do this, and I expect the same respect from my belayer. I just think if you are going to be responsible for someone else's life, you can do a simple thing like not let go of the rope. Just my two cents.

Maybe a better analogy. The definition of the safety on a gun is a mechanical device that can sometimes fail. Meaning just because the safety is on, you still shouldn't point a gun anything you don't intend to kill. The gri gri is a mechanical device that can sometimes fail. Just don't take your brake hand off.